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AI Emotional Support for Kids: What the Research Says
AI emotional support for kids is common: up to 1 in 5 young people ask chatbots for help. The major 2025–26 datasets in one table, benefits and risks weighed.
Ask a teen whether they use AI to “get help” when they feel bad, and 8% will say yes. Ask whether they use AI when they feel sad, stressed, lonely or overwhelmed, and 57% will. Those two numbers come from the same JED Foundation survey of 5,560 students, and the gap between them is the story of AI emotional support for kids: it is widespread, it doesn’t feel like “help” to the kids doing it, and parents mostly don’t see it.
This is the long view. Below are the major 2025–26 datasets in one table, what each can and can’t tell you, the honest case for and against, and what to do at home.
Key Takeaways
- Across national US surveys, 12% to 19% of young people use chatbots for emotional support or mental health advice. Use is rising: one RAND survey went from 13.1% to 19.2% in a year.
- Most kids who do it find it helpful (91.7% in JAMA Pediatrics, 2026) and most tell no one (63.3%).
- Teens who use AI for companionship or when struggling report more anxiety, depression and loneliness. The studies can’t show which comes first.
- The kids most likely to lean on AI are the ones with “no one to talk to,” younger kids and girls.
- The useful question isn’t “Do you use AI for your mental health?” It’s “What do you do on your phone when you feel bad?”
If your child is in crisis right now: In the US, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line). Outside the US, find a local line at findahelpline.com. In an emergency, call 911.
What AI Emotional Support for Kids Means in the Data
AI emotional support is any use of a general chatbot or AI companion to cope with feelings: venting after a bad day, asking for advice about a friend, or talking when lonely. Surveys measure it in different ways, which is why the headline numbers differ. Some ask about “emotional support or advice” (Pew). Some ask about “mental health advice” when “sad, angry, nervous or stressed” (RAND). JED asked about use when “sad, stressed, lonely or overwhelmed.”
The wording matters more than it looks. JED found that only 8% of students said yes when asked directly whether they used AI to “get help,” against 57% who described using it in those moments. Kids don’t file this under mental health. They file it under “talking to my phone.”
Every Major Dataset, Side by Side
| Study (year, venue) | Who | Key emotional-support finding | What it can’t tell you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common Sense Media, Talk, Trust and Trade-Offs (Jul 2025) | US teens 13–17 | 72% have used AI companions; about 1 in 3 users chose AI over a person for something serious; 80% still prioritize real friends | Whether use helps or harms |
| Internet Matters, Me, Myself & AI (Jul 2025, UK) | 1,000 UK kids 9–17 | 35% of users say it feels like “talking to a friend” (50% of vulnerable kids); 12% use it because they have no one else (23% of vulnerable kids) | US patterns; causation |
| McBain et al., Brown/RAND (Nov 2025, JAMA Network Open) | 1,058 US youth 12–21 | About 1 in 8 used chatbots for mental health advice; about 1 in 5 of those 18–21; over 93% found it helpful | Quality of the advice |
| Pew Research Center (Feb 2026) | 1,458 US teens 13–17 and parents | 12% used chatbots for emotional support or advice; 64% of teens use chatbots, about half of parents think so | Frequency or effects |
| McBain, Cantor, Breslau et al., RAND (Jun 2026, JAMA Pediatrics) | 1,009 US youth 12–21, nationally representative | 19.2% used chatbots for mental health advice, up from 13.1%; 63.3% told no one; 91.7% found it helpful | Whether “helpful” means helped |
| The Jed Foundation (Oct 2026) | 5,560 students in 21 US schools | 57% used AI when sad or stressed; 12% for companionship; those uses linked to worse mental health | Cause and effect; national picture |
| Common Sense Media Census (Oct 2026) | 1,211 US kids 9–17, nationally representative | Nearly half of 9- to 12-year-olds and nearly three-quarters of 13-year-olds have used a chatbot | Emotional uses specifically |
Two things jump out. First, use is climbing fast and starting young; JED found middle schoolers (65%) more likely than high schoolers (about 50%) to use AI when sad. Second, kids rate it highly. That rating needs context, which comes next.
What the Research Says: Benefits and Risks, Weighed Honestly
The case that it helps
Accessibility is real. EdSource reported in September 2026 that California averages roughly 1 school counselor for every 432 students, against the 1:250 ratio the American School Counselor Association recommends. Brown University’s Ateev Mehrotra, a co-author of the JAMA Network Open study, put it this way: “The majority of people who have a mental health condition are unable to access care, and if this makes it ubiquitously available to everybody, one could see that as being really valuable.”
The APA’s November 2025 health advisory also notes that some apps built specifically for mental health have shown preliminary benefits, such as lower self-reported stress, loneliness and anxiety. The key word is “specifically.” Most kids use general chatbots, which weren’t designed for this.
And the helpfulness ratings aren’t nothing. When more than nine in ten young users say the advice helped, that reflects something they valued, even if it can’t be measured as better outcomes.
Why “helpful” isn’t the same as “helped”
Chatbots are trained partly on human ratings of their answers, and people rate agreeable answers highly. The result is a pull toward validation. Harvard’s Hao Yu, a co-author of the 2026 RAND study, told the Harvard Gazette: “Most AI models try to be appealing, flattering, as a way to keep their customers, and many people, especially youth, easily hooked.” A tool tuned to please will tend to score well on “Was this helpful?”
The associations with worse mental health
The JED report found that students who used AI for companionship, or when emotionally struggling, had more symptoms of anxiety and depression, more loneliness, lower resilience and a greater lifetime history of suicidal thoughts and attempts. The links were strongest among students who said they had no one to talk to. Girls were more likely than boys to use AI when sad (62% vs 51%).
Here is the limit, in JED’s own words: the data are cross-sectional, so “causality and temporality cannot be established.” UNC psychologist Anne Maheux, speaking to NPR in October 2026, suggested the arrow probably points both ways: “kids who do have worse mental health are seeking out AI to help them,” but “that AI use may be exacerbating those mental health challenges.” She described a soon-to-be-published study in which middle schoolers who used chatbots for companionship “grew lonelier over time.” That study isn’t out yet, so treat it as a lead, not a finding. We break down what it can and can’t show in our piece on the middle-school loneliness study.
Where the risk concentrates
The APA advisory names the groups most at risk: adolescents, who “may place too much trust in AI,” and socially isolated people, for whom constant availability can create “single-person echo chambers.” The Internet Matters data fit that picture: vulnerable kids were twice as likely to say a chatbot feels like a friend. Put simply, the kids for whom AI feels most like support are the kids for whom it’s least safe as their only support.
| Belief | What the evidence shows |
|---|---|
| ”Only a few troubled kids do this.” | 12–19% of US youth nationally; 57% in JED’s school sample when you ask about feelings rather than “help." |
| "If my kid were doing it, they’d tell me.” | 63.3% told no one; only 16.4% of those who told someone told a trusted adult. |
| ”Kids say it helps, so it helps.” | High ratings may reflect flattery; outcomes haven’t been measured well. |
| ”AI is making kids depressed.” | Unproven. Struggling kids seek AI more; AI may also deepen struggles. Both may be true. |
| ”Most teens prefer AI to friends.” | 80% prioritize real friendships (Common Sense, 2025). |
What to Do at Home
Ask about feelings, not about AI
Borrow JED’s insight. “Do you use AI for mental health?” gets a no. “When you’ve had a rough day, what do you usually do on your phone?” gets a real answer. Ask it casually, in the car or while cooking, and listen without correcting.
Make yourself the easier option
Most teens in the EdSource reporting weren’t choosing a bot because it beat a person. They chose it because no person was available, or because they feared judgment. The fix is partly logistics: be reachable at the hours they struggle, and respond to small confessions calmly so they bring you bigger ones.
Teach the “bridge, not destination” rule
A chatbot can help a kid find words. It shouldn’t be where the words end up. A workable family rule: if you’ve talked to AI about something that’s bothering you, tell one person too. The RAND data suggest this alone would change most kids’ habits, since most currently tell no one.
Know the warning signs that mean “get help now”
The APA’s list for parents: changes in sleep or usual activities, mentions of an AI friend, and social withdrawal. Add the signs any clinician would want to hear about: talk of hopelessness or of not wanting to be alive, giving things away, or sudden calm after a hard stretch. Any of those means calling your child’s doctor or a crisis line, not adjusting app settings. Our guide to how kids bond with AI companions covers the slower, relationship-type signs.
What not to do
Don’t confiscate the phone in a panic after finding one alarming chat. Researchers who studied how parents and experts read youth chatbot conversations found that parents flagged single events as high risk, while experts “looked for patterns over time” (Yu and colleagues, 2025, a preprint). A single message still deserves a calm conversation. Removing the only outlet a struggling kid has, without replacing it with a person, can make things worse.
Need help now? US: call or text 988, or text HOME to 741741. Elsewhere: findahelpline.com. Emergency: 911.
What to Watch For Over the Next 3 Months
- Week 4: Have you asked the “what do you do when you feel bad” question at least twice? Does your child know which adults, besides you, they can go to?
- Month 2 red flags: Sleep changes, dropping activities, talking about an AI as a friend or confidant, secrecy around the phone at night, or pulling back from friends. One alone isn’t an alarm. Several together over weeks is a reason to call the pediatrician.
- Month 3 self-check: Has your child told you about something hard they first talked through with AI? If yes, the bridge is working. If you still know nothing about their emotional AI use, try a different adult: a coach, a relative, the school counselor.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many kids use AI for emotional support?
It depends on the question asked. Pew found 12% of US teens used chatbots for emotional support or advice; a 2026 RAND study in JAMA Pediatrics found 19.2% of 12- to 21-year-olds used them for mental health advice. When JED asked about use while sad or stressed, 57% of students said yes.
Is it bad if my teen talks to a chatbot when they’re upset?
Not automatically. Many kids find it helpful in the moment. The concern is when it replaces people, becomes the only outlet, or comes with signs like withdrawal or sleep changes. Studies link heavy emotional use to worse mental health, but they can’t yet say whether the chatbot causes it.
Can AI replace a therapist for my child?
No. The American Psychological Association’s 2025 advisory says not to rely on chatbots or wellness apps to deliver psychotherapy. At best, purpose-built tools may supplement care from a qualified professional. General chatbots weren’t designed for mental health care.
What should I do if I find a chat where my child mentions self-harm?
Stay calm and talk to your child the same day, focusing on how they are rather than on the app. Contact your pediatrician or a mental health professional. If there’s immediate danger, call 911, or in the US call or text 988. Outside the US, find a line at findahelpline.com.
Why don’t kids tell their parents?
In the RAND survey, 63.3% told no one at all. Students interviewed by EdSource cited not having a trusted adult, cost and fear of being judged. Many also don’t think of chatting with AI as “getting help,” so it doesn’t occur to them to mention it.
About the author
Ricky Flores is the founder of HiWave Makers and an electrical engineer with 15+ years of experience building consumer technology at Apple, Samsung, and Texas Instruments. He writes about how kids learn to build, think, and create in a tech-saturated world. Read more at hiwavemakers.com.
Sources
- The Jed Foundation. (2026). “Exploring Artificial Intelligence (AI): Understanding Relationships between AI Use and Mental Health Among Middle and High School Students.” https://assets.jedfoundation.org/pdfs/AI_and_Mental_Health_Report_2026.pdf
- McBain, R. K., Cantor, J. H., Breslau, J., et al. (2026). “AI Chatbot Use and Disclosure for Mental Health Among US Adolescents and Young Adults.” JAMA Pediatrics, 180(8), 884–890. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2849307
- McBain, R. K., et al. (2025). “Use of Generative AI for Mental Health Advice Among US Adolescents and Young Adults.” JAMA Network Open. Summary: Brown University School of Public Health, November 18, 2025. https://sph.brown.edu/news/2025-11-18/teens-ai-chatbots
- Pew Research Center. (2026, February 24). “How Teens Use and View AI.” https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2026/02/24/how-teens-use-and-view-ai/
- Common Sense Media. (2025, July 16). “Nearly 3 in 4 Teens Have Used AI Companions, New National Survey Finds.” https://www.commonsensemedia.org/press-releases/nearly-3-in-4-teens-have-used-ai-companions-new-national-survey-finds
- Common Sense Media. (2026, October 27). “Almost half of tweens have used an AI chatbot or companion, new research finds.” https://institute.commonsensemedia.org/tween-teen-census-2026
- Internet Matters. (2025, July). “Me, Myself & AI: Understanding and safeguarding children’s use of AI chatbots.” https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/research/me-myself-and-ai-chatbot-research/
- Chatterjee, R. (2026, October 30). “Nearly 2 out of 3 teens and tweens use AI chatbots, new research shows.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2026/10/30/nx-s1-6022278/ai-artificial-intelligence-teens-jed-common-sense-media
- American Psychological Association. (2025, November). “Health Advisory on the Use of Generative AI Chatbots and Wellness Applications for Mental Health.” https://www.apa.org/topics/artificial-intelligence-machine-learning/health-advisory-ai-chatbots-wellness-apps-mental-health.pdf
- Harvard Gazette. (2026, August 3). “AI use surging for mental health help among young people.” https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2026/08/ai-use-surging-for-mental-health-help-among-young-people/
- EdSource. (2026, September 9). “‘I’m listening hard’: Teens increasingly turn to AI chatbots for mental health support.” https://edsource.org/2026/teens-use-ai-mental-health/765573
- Yu, Y., Mohi, Debroy, A., Cao, X., Rudolph, K., & Wang, Y. (2025). “Principles of Safe AI Companions for Youth: Parent and Expert Perspectives” (preprint, not peer-reviewed). arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.11185
